1
as in democratic
of, relating to, or favoring political democracy
having rid itself of the yoke of colonialism, the new nation chose to be a self-ruling state
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in independent
not being under the rule or control of another
was granted special status as a self-ruling province
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Recent Examples of self-ruling
In recent years, Beijing has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan – a self-ruling democracy the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own despite having never governed it.
—
Eric Cheung, CNN, 13 Mar. 2023
In a meeting earlier with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Raisi expressed support for China's crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and claim to self-ruling democratic Taiwan.
—Bradford Betz, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2023
Eric Cheung, CNN, 13 Mar. 2023
In a meeting earlier with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Raisi expressed support for China's crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and claim to self-ruling democratic Taiwan.
—Bradford Betz, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-ruling
Adjective
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The opposition accuses Fico of eroding democratic standards, media freedom, and covering up corruption.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
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Divisions emerged even among those committed to democratic reforms.—
Time,
Time,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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There aren’t many tours available, so an excursion to the castle is most likely going to be an independent adventure.—
Sophie Friedman,
AFAR Media,
22 Oct. 2025
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However, as China ruthlessly pursues independent innovation, domestic substitution of imports has become a policy priority to ensure tech self-sufficiency in critical industries.—
Ni Tao,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The push for fully autonomous systems, agents that plan, reason, and act without human oversight, has created an automation theater where demos impress, but production systems disappoint.—
Joel Hron,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
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Larger mushroom systems could find applications in edge computing and aerospace exploration, while smaller iterations might enhance autonomous systems and wearable devices.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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So, in the UAE, we're partnered with Abu Dhabi, and there's two funds that have invested Mubadala, which is one of the sovereign wealth funds and IHC, another one of the sovereign wealth funds.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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More recently, the firm advised the government on many of its international bond sales and helped finance the sovereign wealth fund’s $55 billion purchase of Electronic Arts.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Her body was found 42 feet underwater by a separate dive team.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
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Some of those that do essentially segregate Medicaid patients into separate clinics.—
Helen Ouyang,
The Atlantic,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-ruling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-ruling. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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